Cardinals to Face UC Irvine in NCAA + Ticket Info

The University of Louisville has earned a No. 4 seed for the 2015 Division I NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and will play its initial game on Friday, March 20, against the No. 13 seed UC Irvine in Seattle, Wash.

This is the 41st NCAA Tournament appearance for the Cardinals and ninth straight. Louisville is fifth nationally in NCAA Tournament appearances and sixth in tournament victories (72-41 record in the NCAA Tournament). The Cardinals are tied for fourth in NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (20), sixth in advancing to Elite Eights (13) and seventh with 10 Final Fours. Louisville won the 1980, 1986 and 2013 NCAA Championships.

“We had been to five straight conference championship games over the last five years,” said UofL Coach Rick Pitino, who is guiding his 20th team into the NCAA Tournament. “While we are disappointed that we did not advance in the ACC Tournament, the silver lining is that we had time to practice and work on a few different things. We feel that we’re playing our best basketball of the season and are looking forward to a great tournament.”

Louisville’s 120 victories over the last four years is tied for the second-most in the nation. During that stretch, the Cardinals have reached the NCAA Sweet 16 on three occasions, advanced to the Final Four twice and won the 2013 NCAA title.

Season ticket holders who submitted NCAA post-season ticket requests online will contacted by via email on Sunday with details on purchasing their seats. Those season ticket holders will be notified later where the tickets will be available for pickup in Seattle. Student ticket information will be distributed via email to students on Monday.